Transforming media interactions: Why empathy matters in executive communication

Understanding and respect can lead to media wins. Step No. 1? Make a journalist's job easier

Want to hear about the world’s loneliest job right about now? You might guess tech, and you’d be correct that tech layoffs are despairingly rampant in 2024. But even that shaky sector can’t begin to compare with the plight of those in the media and journalism — the writers, journalists, editors, photographers, producers, and art designers who have long been struggling to make a living in the arid landscape that is media today.?

It doesn’t seem that it would be even possible to cut more meat from the bone after so many years of attrition — since the 2000s advertising and jobs and magazines and newspapers and livable salaries have been “shed” at an appalling rate.?

And yet! Well, so far this year year, more than 800 jobs were lost in January alone, and the grim tally include wholesale cuts at Sports Illustrated, the loss of the print edition of Popular Science, and staffs winnowed at?TechCrunch, LA Times, BuzzFeed, and on and on.??

The plight of journalists too often doesn’t appear on many leaders’ radars, despite the fact that companies and brands are always looking for media “wins” — ie, positive write-ups in endemic and tier-one publications. Even worse are the cases when leadership goes full firebrand, denigrating the profession and people behind media institutions. Sure, the worlds are sometimes at odds, but there’s no denying that there is a strong symbiotic relationship between them.?

C’mon, peeps, we need each other.?

Little wonder that from the journalists’ side, it can feel stone-cold transactional. One-sided. Lonely.?

Conversations between leadership and journalists should be less transactional, more human (and humane). Less… one sided

I know this intimately, as I was a writer and reporter for decades, getting my start at the Albuquerque Journal as a beat reporter, and progressing to columns at Bloomberg and The Verge, while also filing stories for magazines like Condé Nast Traveler and Fortune. That was a better era in the media, but even then it felt awfully lonely (and often not financially worthwhile). Like so many before and after me, I moved over the communications side.?

I've taken those lessons as a journalist into my current realm, advising my founders and leadership teams on the best practices when interacting with reporters. I'd like to think I'm a mediator between these sometimes opposing worlds. Sure, I'm looking for media wins, too — but it is important that both sides are treated with compassion and respect. Those conversations should be less transactional, more human (and humane). Less… one sided.?

Here are some quick takeaways that will make a leader’s experience working with a journalist better. For both sides.?

Theme 1: You’re dealing with a human on the other side of the interview

This seems obvious, I know, but you’d be surprised how often busy C-Suite member seem to forget this. A few points under this rubric:

• Read or watch some of the journalists work before you give an interview. I’ve been on too many conversations where it was clear the person on the other side had never read a single sentence of my work. Meanwhile, I’d come armed with tons of research about the person I was interviewing. Hours of work. But on the other hand, when an executive tells you, “Oh, I loved that viewpoint you had on X or Z” — and it feels like they mean it — suddenly you feel, well, seen.
• Be on time for the interview. Journalists have busy lives, too — they’re juggling career and family and the endless onslaught of deadlines. Someone (an editor, most likely) is demanding a product from that journalist at the end of the day. Try not to regard your time as more important.
• Write a thank you note after the piece comes out. Even if you don’t love every aspect of the write-up — take the time to thank them for their work. Too often (most often, even), reporters get ghosted after the piece comes out. Until, of course, the company or founders need something again, later.
• Keep in touch — in a non-transactional way. Comment on their LinkedIn posts or tweets — chime in. And if they lose their job — and at some point, every journalist seems to — reach out. Just a simple “sorry to hear, hope you land something great soon, and let us know if we can help!” goes a superrrrr long way.

Theme 2: Come as the professional that you already are

We expect a professional journalist to bring their A-game. Guess what? They expect the same thing.

• Come prepared for the interview. Don’t assume the writer knows the minutiae of your company or product. They’re interviewing you for a reason. Assume, sure, they’ve done some research. But before you jump into the deep details, or start speaking in acronyms, ask if it would be helpful to first give a 30,000-foot perspective. Inquire if they'd like your particular viewpoint of why your company or product matters, and why you’re personally passionate about it. This “human” perspective will almost always be appreciated.
• Don’t run on and on. Talk in quotes. Keep your thoughts as tidy and short as possible. No, this isn’t being withholding: Writers must recreate your thoughts through the use of quotes. It's tricky! Take your main one or two points, beforehand, and practice: How might I best encapsulate these thoughts in a nice and tidy (and interesting) way?
• Use stories as an example. One of the best gifts you can get as a reporter? A source who has interesting, real-life stories and examples to back up her points. People love stories. That goes double for a journalist.?
• Get backup materials ready beforehand. You’ve got a comms person (um, right?). Use them. Make sure you've lined up any of the data, research, or white papers that you cite in the interview, and ask your comms person to follow up by sending those materials to the journalist promptly. The old “let me get back to you on that” koan is really annoying to a journalist when no one ever DOES get back to you.
• Don’t lash out. You’re never going to love every single aspect of a story. No one does. It’s hard to read about yourself, your project, your employees, your passions — especially when it’s not all glowing. You have your own complaints about your products and employees, but it can feel hurtful or plain unfair when you see it in print, by an outsider.?Remember, a journalist’s job is to present a well-rounded story, and present contrary opinions. This is just good journalism.
• Accept the headline. Journalists rarely write headlines. I’ve had many a founder or C-Suite member come to me and say, “Loved the article, hated the headline.” Well, there’s usually a person up the line who wrote that — an editor or managing editor — and while the journalist may have suggested a headline, they often aren’t used. So it is rarely if ever worth going back to the reporter and complaining about it. Nothing they can do unless it is factually incorrect.
• But, if something IS factually incorrect — then by all means, fair game. Have your comms person reach out to the reporter and point out the issue or error. This should be done in as dispassionate a manner as possible. But errors absolutely should be fixed!
• Show your humanity. Everyone like someone who is genuine. Go ahead and show flashes of your passion, your happiness, even your worries. The journalist is likely to respond — and so will her readers.

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